


Ghosts of the Machine

by bonesofether



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, M/M, NSFW, Other, Overwatch - Freeform, Reaper76 - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:54:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21544093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonesofether/pseuds/bonesofether
Summary: Blackwatch's newest recruit has notable potential, but when things begin to fall apart, where will her loyalties lay? To her commanding officer reeling from a broken heart and inhuman changes? To the Omnic living in her mind? Or solely to herself?
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Kudos: 7





	1. The Recruited Future

Four men and three women. All new recruits. All with the most potential and promise that could be found.

From their vantage point in the observation room, Overwatch commander Jack Morrison and Blackwatch commander Gabriel Reyes watched as the recruits filed into the large debriefing room below them. It was one of the main ones used by Overwatch, so it was tastefully decorated and well kept. It had also been built to ensure that the occupants of the observation room above it could see the entire room. Finally, there was the added benefit of privacy that the observation room’s one-way window provided.

“Just think, Jack,” Gabriel said, side-eyeing his fellow officer with a smirk. “Soon all of those scrubs will be your responsibility. All the nagging. All the incessant questions. All the-”

“Slow down there. Not _all_ of them are going to be mine,” Jack interrupted, matching Gabriel’s smirk with one of his own. “You already forget? Your little ragtag band of merry soldiers gets a new babysitting responsibility, too.”

Smirk immediately fading, Commander Reyes scoffed audibly and turned his attention back to the recruits below them.

“Blackwatch is fine with who it has,” he replied sternly, crossing his arms. “I already told our superiors that we don’t need some newbie screwing things up.”

“Oh yeah? And how’d that go? I hope our superiors didn’t die of laughter.”

“You intending on passing that quick wit on to your recruits?”

Despite his words, Gabriel couldn’t help but feel a little irritated. He wasn’t sure what got on his nerves more; Jack’s reply or the fact that Jack was right. Giving the recruits a scrutinizing look, Gabriel thought back to the last one that Blackwatch had been saddled with. They’d lasted a whole month before admitting that they couldn’t handle the job and were transferred to work in Overwatch.

Noticing Gabriel’s deep frown, Jack leaned a little closer to the dark-haired officer and nudged them lightly with his elbow, “Come on, Gabe. It can’t be as bad as you’re thinking.”

“Remember what happened with the last guy, Jack? Thought the kid was going to have a total breakdown during that last week.”

“Nobody said that black ops was easy. There’s bound to be a couple dropouts.”

“Yeah, but I’d rather they just admit they can’t make the cut and back out,” Gabriel sighed, gaze still scanning over the recruits as they watched one of the many instructional videos that Overwatch put all new recruits through. The Blackwatch commander was convinced the videos were one of the first tests that new recruits were put through. A test of patience, that is. “Can’t have them pushing themselves to the point of near mental breakdown and then leaving a whole mess of paperwork for Blackwatch-”

“You mean you.”

“Yes. I mean me,” Gabriel replied, smirking again at Jack. He then shrugged. “There’s a reason that Blackwatch’s beginning missions are as tough as they are. Got to make sure that the newbie can take the stress.”

“And that they don’t learn all your dark secrets immediately,” Jack added with a wink, though there was quite a bit of truth to the blond commander’s words.

Rolling his eyes and smirk unwavering, Gabriel turned his attention back to the recruits. They were being debriefed by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ziegler, and a probably underpaid intern. Gabriel did have to concede that this batch of recruits looked promising. But didn’t they always?

“Think I see your scrub,” Jack said, shuffling closer to Gabriel with an electronic dossier in hand.

“Oh yeah? Which one?”

Wrapping an arm around Gabriel’s shoulders, Jack then pointed to a young woman at the table, “Third on the left. Short, reddish blonde hair. The one with the headgear.”

It only took a minute for Gabriel to spot the recruit that Jack was referring to. Leaning slightly against Jack, the Blackwatch commander studied the young woman for a long moment. She had a lean build and appeared to be paying attention to the debriefing. She did have a rather curious bit of headgear on. Her biography had mentioned it, but it was different seeing it in actuality.

“You don’t even know what your own newbie looks like?” Jack chuckled. He then held up the electronic dossier, waving it in front of Gabriel. “Did you even look at this thing, Gabe?”

“Sure. ...once.”

Scoffing lightly, Jack rolled his eyes before leaning in close to steal a quick kiss along Gabriel’s jawline. A knowing grin spread across Gabriel’s features and he turned to Jack. He firmly but playfully grabbed the blond’s chin, holding them still as he leaned forward.

“I’ll have you know her hair darker in the picture,” Gabriel murmured, his face just a breath away from Jack’s. Then he pressed his lips against Jack’s, earning quiet sight of contentment from the blond. Then, with a teasing nip to Jack’s lower lip, Gabriel continued. “And longer.”

“What? Was she wearing a wig?”

“Oh, shut up,” Gabriel muttered with a chuckle.

The Blackwatch commander then proceeded to ensure Jack’s temporary silence by firmly pressing his lips against theirs once again. Groaning quietly, Jack leaned up against Gabriel, free hand trailing down their side before gripping lightly at Gabriel’s hip. Taking the hint, the Blackwatch commander pulled the blond man closer, deepening the kiss as he did so. Jack’s grip on Gabriel’s hip momentarily intensified, his thumb slipping underneath Gabriel’s shirt to tug wantonly at their belt.

Softly growling a sigh, Gabriel backed Jack up against the nearest wall. His back colliding with the wall with a quiet thud, Jack grunted and grinned up at Gabriel with a raised eyebrow. He grasped the side of Gabriel’s face, pulling them down for a series of eager kisses. Occasionally the dark-haired man would graze his teeth across Jack’s lower lip, which only served to spur Jack on.

“Someone’s eager,” Gabriel chuckled, lips fluttering against Jack’s.

“Yeah,” Jack replied. “Because a certain _someone_ has skipped their last couple of regular visits.”

“Not my fault you seem to enjoy the company of paperwork more than me.”

“Now I wouldn’t go _that_ far,” the Overwatch commander chuckled as he worked his kisses down Gabriel’s neck. As expected, a low groan of want rumbled from the back of Gabriel’s throat, his hands grabbing Jack’s hips firmly as he pressed his body firmly against Jack’s. Grinning knowingly, Jack glanced up at Gabriel, continuing to softly kiss at their neck. “...see what you’re missing out on?”

“If I promise to make up for lost time, think you can manage to squeeze me into your schedule?” Gabriel murmured somewhat breathlessly.

“I think I just might be able to. You-”

The sounds of the meeting being adjourned interrupted the two, and, realizing that they would have to meet the recruits themselves, Jack and Gabriel hurried in composing themselves. Grabbing up the electronic dossier, Jack took one last glance at the young woman’s profile. He then waved the dossier at Gabriel.

“Take this. I’ve got another back at my office.”

“Thanks.” Taking the dossier and reading over the recruit’s profile, Gabriel sighed and tilted his head to the side. “Well, she looks like she might make it. And if her bio’s correct, she’ll definitely be a useful asset…”

“I’m hearing an unspoken ‘but’.”

“I’m just not going to be holding my breath, that’s all. I thought the same things about the last guy.”

The two made their way to the door to the observation room, but Gabriel wrapped his arm around Jack’s waist and suddenly pulled them up against him. Stealing a quick kiss to the corner of Jack’s mouth, Gabriel grinned coyly at the blond.

“So what time is our little meeting?”

“Twenty-one hundred,” Jack replied without hesitation. He then quickly kissed Gabriel’s cheek before reluctantly slipping out of their hold. “Don’t be late. You’ve got quite a bit of time to make up for.”

* * *

Despite the obvious lengths that had been gone to in order to make the debriefing room comfortable, Evie still found herself fidgeting in her seat. It had taken almost all the restraint that she could muster to not continually click the complimentary pen that she had been given. She knew as well as anyone that the instructional videos were necessary, as was the obligatory introductions, but all Evie wanted was to get out and actually see the facility.

And Evie couldn’t lie to herself. She wanted to meet the people that were to be her teammates. She was well aware that Blackwatch was black ops and that there were those that would frown on what she would be doing. But Evie hadn’t applied for the position for the fame.

Besides, she would just be following in her father’s footsteps. Which, by this point, was fully expected of her.

Finally, mercifully, the meeting came to an end.

Dr. Ziegler advised that they would all need to report to her weekly for a routine check up, and with that, they were dismissed. The first new person that Evie spotted was the unmistakable Commander Morrison. He cut as striking a figure in person as he did on the promotional posters. In an instant, the rest of the recruits flocked to him, obviously eager to introduce themselves.

Though she knew she would have to meet Commander Morrison in the very near future, Evie hesitated. Morrison wasn’t her commanding officer, and she glanced around quickly, looking for the man that was. She had heard all sorts of interesting rumors about Commander Reyes, but Evie had dismissed the majority of them. She had been around enough soldiers to know when they were just telling stories.

As soon as the thought had crossed her mind, Evie sensed someone approaching her on the right. She pivoted quickly...and found herself looking up at none other than the officer she had been searching for. Commander Gabriel Reyes.

“Commander Reyes, sir,” Evie stated smartly, straightening her posture. “I was just looking for you.”

Now that he was closer to the young woman, Gabriel was able to give Evie a better once over. Despite the fact that she was a recruit, he could tell that she had been raised under ‘military lite’ standards. Most likely by her father. Colonel Fierstein was known to be a strict, but fair man. It seemed that also applied to their family life.

Evie’s hair had obviously been recently cut, with both sides shaved to keep her headgear from being covered. The rest of the hair on the top of her head was a little longer and neatly combed back. Her grey eyes looked up at Gabriel expectantly, and he could see the slightest hint of...something else in them. Something that would occasionally catch the light and glint.

It wasn’t that surprising, though. Gabriel knew that Evie had undergone a few enhancement procedures before being brought to the Overwatch headquarters. So, if anything, a few oddities here and there were to be expected.

“Thought it might be easier if I avoided the throng of fans that Morrison’s got,” Gabriel explained with a smirk. He glanced over to this compatriot, not the least bit envious of all the questions and introductions they were being bombarded with. Turning his attention back to Evie, Gabriel motioned to a side door. “This way. Blackwatch members don’t get to go through the big, fancy hallway that Overwatch recruits do.”

Evie gave a quick nod in reply. She hadn’t been expecting, nor had she really wanted, a lot of pomp and circumstance for her arrival. It was distracting and made her feel on edge. Falling in step alongside Commander Reyes, Evie cast one last glance at the recruits she had arrived with before exiting the debriefing room.

“So… Commander Fierstein’s daughter, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

Glancing around the small, dimly lit hallway that Commander Reyes was leading her down, Evie noted that it was sparsely decorated. There was the occasional photo of some decorated veteran that Evie felt as though she should know, but for the life of her couldn’t even recall their name. Other than that, the walls were barren.

“He’s got a bit of a reputation around here.”

“I can imagine so, sir. He was practically beside himself when he found out I had been accepted here.”

“Not surprising, knowing him. Glad to hear it, though,” Gabriel chuckled.

Every now and then, the Blackwatch commander would glance over at Evie. She was keeping perfect step and pace with him, despite his rather brisk pace. Not to mention she would occasionally glance up at him, as though expecting him to do or say something.

Oh, yeah… She was definitely a military brat.

Which just might work in her favor. Maybe growing up under ‘military lite’ standards would be what helped keep Evie in Blackwatch. And, most importantly, make her a valuable component to the black ops group.

As they entered an elevator that would take them to the Blackwatch personnel dormitories, Gabriel turned to Evie. He had a couple of questions for her and her designation. But they weren’t ones he’d wanted to voice where someone else could hear.

Evie’s dossier had said that she was a tank operator. Not just any tank operator, but an Omnic spider tank operator. It had something to do with the headgear that she wore. That it could transmit orders to the tank in order to pilot it, if Gabriel recalled correctly. The tank itself, however, was a husk, or ‘corpse’, of a large, offlined Omnic spider tank. That detail alone had been enough to put Evie in the ranks of Blackwatch, since Overwatch wasn’t about to sully their pristine appearance with such a morbid fact.

“So, tank pilot, huh?” Gabriel asked, leaning back against the elevator wall.

“Yes, sir,” Evie replied with a nod. She then tapped at one of the transmitters on the side of her head. “It’s thanks to these. Creates a link between me and the tank. Of course, I still have some controls to man, but the transmitter link makes things easier. ...a lot easier.”

“That so, huh?”

The dark-haired commander leaned forward to take a closer look at the headgear that was the topic of their discussion. Having expected such an inspection, Evie held perfectly still. The transmitters were relatively slim and fit perfectly around Evie’s ears. The top ends were angled upwards, giving the young woman the appearance of having almost pointed ears. Gunmetal grey in color and though they looked delicate, Gabriel had no doubt that the transmitters were incredibly durable. They had to be. Finally, at the back edges, small indicator lights would briefly flicker, though in no discernable pattern.

“Those things stayed put through all the combat simulations?” Gabriel asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, sir. They were custom designed and built to fit around my ears and along my head.” Evie tilted her head slightly. “There’s also the magnetic holders and small stabilizer rods that were implanted, as well.”

The idea of having magnets or stabilizer rods, whatever those were, implanted in his head didn’t sit too well with Gabriel. Then again, after all the procedures he had gone through, some not exactly sanctioned, either, he probably didn’t have much room to judge. Besides, all the procedures done to Evie had to have been done by some of the best neurosurgeons available. So it wasn’t like it was a haphazard job.

“Ever had any trouble with them?”

“No, sir,” Evie answered with a quick shake of her head. “They’ve worked like a charm since I first got them.”

Before the conversation could continue, there was the cheerful ding of the elevator to let them know that they had arrived at their floor. The doors slid open effortlessly, revealing another dimly lit hallway. Evie was beginning to wonder if Blackwatch had forgotten to pay the entirety of the electric bill.

Noticing that Evie was looking dubiously at the dim lights, Gabriel smirked and continued on ahead.

“Saves power. That and there’s not enough people coming through these halls to justify keeping them lit all the time,” Gabriel explained. As they neared the doorway to the common quarters, the Blackwatch commander looked back to his newest recruit. “Figured it would be best to get you introduced. After that, I’ll show you to your dormitory room and you can get settled. Pretty sure your luggage had been delivered by now.”

“Sounds good. Thank you, sir.”

“One more thing,” Gabriel said, holding up an index finger and stopping right before the double doors. He gave Evie a pointed look. “If McCree tries to challenge you to a quickdraw...anything, tell him ‘no’. Don’t question it. Don’t ask for details. Just say ‘no’. Understood?”

“Just...tell him ‘no’?” Evie repeated, frowning in obvious confusion.

“Exactly. You tell him ‘no’ and that if he asks again, Commander Reyes will confiscate that hat of his.”

Blinking up at her commander, Evie tried to make sense of what she was being told to do, but nodded nonetheless. She had been told the names of the prominent members of Blackwatch, but little more than that. Any details had been quick and scant.

Evie knew that Jesse McCree was a sharpshooter and former member of the Deadlock gang, but what ‘hat’ was Commander Reyes referring to? Why would he confiscate that, of all things? And why would McCree be challenging Evie to anything, anyways?

“Trust me, you’ll figure it out soon enough,” Gabriel said with a nod, noting Evie’s confused expression. With that, he quickly tapped in the door code and the doors slid open with a low his. “Welcome to Blackwatch, recruit Fierstein.”


	2. New Room Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie is introduced to her new teammates and new home. Afterwards, Gabriel and Jack convene for a long overdue 'meeting'.

The main commons room looked like most that Evie had seen on military bases, only this one had more expensive equipment and decor. There were posters of varying types and images, a large table in the middle with two smaller ones off to either back corner of the room. Strewn across the larger table were playing cards, a couple of tablets, and even one or two paperback books. Further back Evie could see another room that appeared to be more for mission debriefing and overview, but she couldn’t make out much more about the room than that.

Her attention was almost immediately diverted to a young man seated at one side of the main table. He was leaned back in his chair, the front legs barely brushing against the floor. He was wearing what looked like standard issue common clothes...and a very well worn cowboy hat.

Which means that this must be the infamous Jesse McCree.

“Hey, boss,” Jesse said, looking up from the book he had been reading. His gaze first went to Gabriel, then to Evie. “So this is the newbie, huh?”

“Yes, she is,” Gabriel replied. He briefly paused, then gave Jesse a pointed look. “And I’ve already told her to watch out for your antics, so don’t get any ideas.”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talkin’ about,” Jesse retorted quickly, though his hint of a grin said otherwise.

“He said he’d confiscate your hat,” Evie commented, despite being still a little confused.

That definitely got Jesse’s attention, and he looked over at Gabriel in mock alarm. He raised an eyebrow questioningly and tipped his hat back, as though trying to put it further away from his commander’s reach.

“Damn. Gettin’ kind of grumpy in your old age, ain’t ya’?”

“Keep it up, McCree, and you’ll be running laps until you’re too tired to run that mouth of yours,” Gabriel countered with a smirk. He looked around the room quickly before turning his attention back to Jesse. “Where’s Shimada?”

“He was ‘round here somewhere. Said he wanted to get something for the new recruit.”

“For me?” Evie asked, looking to Gabriel.

Her answer did not come from her commanding officer, however. The sound of metallic footfalls caught Evie’s attention and she turned to the source of the noise just in time to see the shadows of a connecting hallway shift. They slipped away to reveal a definitely humanoid figure, but that was about the most human thing of them. Who, or maybe even what, she was looking at was more metal than flesh, and Eloisa had to quickly remind herself that it was rude to stare.

“We were just wondering where you’d managed to run off to,” Gabriel commented. He glanced back at Evie before motioning to the cyborg. “Recruit, this is Genji Shimada.”

“The ninja, right?” Evie asked, unable to hide her excited curiosity.

The young man regarded her with a curious look, but appeared to grin after a moment and chuckled.

“That is one of my titles, yes. Among other things.” Genji took a couple steps towards Evie, looking her over. “And you are our new tank pilot, yes?”

“That’s what I’ve been told.” Evie couldn’t deny that she felt a bit like she was on display, but she knew it was both necessary and temporary.

“It is an honor to work with you, then,” the young cyborg stated with a courteous nod. “We have been in need of someone with your set of skills for quite some time.”

“Well, I aim to impress, so hopefully you won’t be disappointed.”

Again, despite most of his face being covered, Evie could see a definite smile on Genji’s features. The cyborg looked to Commander Reyes and motioned to the hallway behind him.

“O’Deorain said that she was currently occupied with some of her research, but that she would introduce herself to our newest member later.”

“Probably best if you don’t meet her at all,” Jesse grumbled from his seat.

“Shut it, McCree,” Gabriel interjected.

Though the young gunslinger muttered something under his breath, he fell quiet, nonetheless. Evie looked at him in confused concern for a moment before turning a questioning look to Commander Reyes. The dark-haired man frowned at Jesse for a second longer before looking to Evie. He just shook his head dismissively, as though trying to reassure the young woman that there was nothing to worry about.

But something about the way both Genji and Jesse had reacted to the scientist’s name didn’t sit well with Eloisa. Not to mention she had heard about the scientist on Blackwatch and, more to the point, why they were on Blackwatch. Their experiments were cutting edge, but weren’t necessarily always ethical. From the rumors she had heard, Moira O’Deorain could be considered the antithesis of Dr. Angela Ziegler.

Nonetheless, they were now one of Evie’s teammates and technically one of her superiors. And she certainly couldn't say that she had been expecting to be working with a bunch of saints. So what if the scientist among them happened to push the envelope more often than any of them?

“Now that we’ve got introductions out of the way, want to see your room?” Gabriel offered in an attempt to change the subject.

Grateful for the opportunity, Evie nodded quickly. Not only would it be nice to see where she would be living, more or less, but she was also curious to see if her luggage had arrived safely. Not to mention that after a thirteen hour flight to the headquarters, Evie was more than ready for a shower and then some sleep. Preferably in that order, but not necessarily.

Following Commander Reyes down one of the hallways, the more lit up one, Evie glanced over her shoulder to the main commons room. Waiting until they were far enough away that she was fairly certain neither Genji nor Jesse could hear her, Evie looked back to her commanding officer. Hesitating for a moment, biting at her bottom lip, Evie decided to go ahead and voice her question.

“Commander Reyes?” Evie inwardly winced at how tiny her voice sounded.

“Hm?”

“Should I, uh, give O’Deorain some space? I mean, if she’s busy, I don’t-”

“It’s not really that she’s too busy,” Gabriel interrupted with a sigh, slowing his pace. “She… She’s brilliant, but tends to get so wrapped up in her work that she forgets about the world around her.” He paused, then shrugged quickly. “She can also be more than a little unnerving at times. O’Deorain’s more of the type that you’re better off to let her come to you rather than you go to her. Understand?”

Evie opened her mouth to reply, then stopped herself when she realized that she didn’t have anything very polite to reply with. A frown of both confusion and concern settled on her features as Evie tried to figure out if she wanted to meet someone like that. Her thoughts were interrupted when Gabriel chuckled and patted her on the back.

“Don’t look so worried about it, recruit,” he assured, stopping in front of a door that had the number ‘57’ on the placard. “O’Deorain may be creepy, but she’s trustworthy.”

“A real charmer,” Evie muttered while maintaining a smile.

After Gabriel tapped in a code to unlock it, the door slid open with a mechanical hiss. The room behind it automatically lit up, revealing that the room itself looked like a high tech version of a college dormitory. There was a small table with two chairs, a television mounted up in the upper right corner of the main room, a bed nested in the wall on the furthest wall, and a small door that led to what Evie could only assume was a bathroom. Already resting on her bed was her luggage, complete with a complimentary, scripted welcome note.

“It’s not much, but it’s home now,” Gabriel announced with a smirk, leaning against the doorway and letting Evi step inside.

“Not bad, not bad.” She grinned over her shoulder to her commanding officer. “And what time is breakfast delivered?”

“As soon as you can get your ass out of bed and get to the cafeteria,” Gabriel chuckled. He watched as Evie wandered around the dormitory room, silently trying to rank her against the other new recruits he’d dealt with recently.

From the looks of it and from what he knew about her, Evie was somewhere in the mid to upper rank. She was a bit lean for someone who was supposed to be piloting a decommissioned Omnic spider tank, and the headgear just seemed like a head injury waiting to happen. Gabriel just hoped he wasn’t around when it happened. ...or maybe it would be better if he was.

On the other hand, Evie’s entire immediate family was military, and she had a bit of military experience herself. Another plus was that she didn’t seem to be as gung-ho, trigger-happy as some of the other recruits Gabriel had had to deal with. At the very least, she appeared to respect the position that she had now been put into.

The main thing that Gabriel was curious about, however, was to see how Evie actually handled her fabled tank. Blackwatch was more adept at stealth missions and specialized in not being seen. But there had been more than one occasion where having a giant spider tank crash the party would have been more than helpful. And Evie had top ranks when it came to piloting. All Gabriel needed was to see those skills in action in person.

“Well, unless you’ve got any other questions, I’ll leave you to unpacking and getting settled,” the Blackwatch commander said, motioning to the luggage on and by Evie’s bed. “There’s a comm panel over here by the door, and if you need anything, you should be able to find someone that has the answer. Or can at least point you towards the person that actually does.”

Nodding her understanding, Evie walked over to her luggage to inspect it. There were a few scuff marks here and there, but nothing major. So long as the contents had made it safe and sound, that was all that mattered.

“Thank you, sir.”

With a quick nod of acknowledgement, Commander Reyes took his leave. Waiting until the door had shut, Evie sighed and opened the first suitcase. It practically exploded as soon as the latches were unlocked, spewing its contents out. Reflexively shielding her face, Evie winced away as she was pelted with various items of her wardrobe. The worst was probably one of the few pretty looking blouses that she had. One of its large, oversized buttons managed to smack her square on the nose.

Grumbling and unceremoniously shoveling the clothes out of the suitcase and onto the bed, Evie sifted around the contents. She was looking for something in particular that she had purposefully hidden amongst the volatile collection of clothing. And after a few minutes of searching, she found it.

It was a Bunny Pachimari keychain. A very well worn Bunny Pachimari keychain. The ears had lost most of the fluff that had once covered them, and the fuzzy tail had been reduced to half of a fuzzy tail. Nonetheless, Evie had held onto the item. She had a whole collection of Pachimari keychains, actually. And when one finally became so worn that it was practically unidentifiable, Evie immediately replaced it.

She liked to think that the little trinkets brought her good luck out on the battlefield.

But she didn’t have a replacement for the current Bunny Pachimari one, though Evie had argued that she was bound to come across a suitable replacement at some point. But it couldn’t just be any old keychain. It had to be one that ‘fit’. One that could live up to the long career of the Bunny Pachimari keychain.

Hanging the keychain from a small hook above the head of her bed, Evie studied it for a moment before nodding in satisfaction. She then reluctantly turned her attention to the pile of clothes she had created in the midst of her search. Deciding that it might make a bad impression if she just left the clothes there, not to mention make sleep difficult, Evie began to begrudgingly put the clothes away. As the motions became more routine, her thoughts started to drift.

They were supposed to have her tank already set up and ready for testing. A new tank, even. Well, a new corpse, to be more precise. Evie could only hope that the last bits of Omnic programming had been completely scrubbed from the tank’s systems. If not, then she’d have to do it herself. And while it was perfectly doable, it was also a headache. Sometimes literally.

Plus she didn’t want to concern her teammates with a statement along the lines of, “Please wait a few seconds while I forcibly regain control of the tank I’m piloting”. Phrases like that didn’t tend to be very confidence inspiring or win her many friends.

Then there was the looming and inevitable meeting that she would have to have with Dr. Swansea. They had already promised to catch up with her within two weeks of her arrival. Given that the rest of their coworkers had been absolute sticklers for punctuality, there was no reason to think that Dr. Swansea would be any different.

There was also the matter of actually meeting the team scientist and medic, Moira O’Deorain. Something about the way Jesse had mentioned the scientist bothered Evie, despite Commander Reyes’s reassurances. If anything, his description of the woman had just made things sound more suspicious. It almost sounded as though O’Deorain was going to be lurking around some dark corner, waiting to pounce on Evie as a way of introducing themselves.

Pushing aside the ridiculous thought with a shake of her head, Evie finished putting away the pile of clothes. With that task done, she moved on to unpacking the next suitcase. It was decidedly less volatile than its larger cousin, and she managed to put away its contents without much incident.

Every now and then, Evie would pause and look around her surroundings. This little dormitory, with its softly humming lights and uniform contents, was her new home now. She might as well get used to it.

* * *

Collapsing back in the tall, cushioned office chair, Gabriel worked to catch his breath. Sweat slipped down his dark skin and his heart was hammering in his chest. Already he could feel exhaustion creeping up on him, but it was of the best kind. The kind that could only follow after a rough, wanting session of lovemaking that left both participants completely and thoroughly spent.

Still lying back on his desk, which was in complete disarray, Jack panted and chuckled tiredly up at the ceiling. He could still feel remnants of Gabriel’s warmth against his skin, but was already missing having the Blackwatch commander firmly pressed up against, and inside, him. Propping himself up on his elbows with a groan, not minding that he was still in a state of partial undress, Jack grinned at Gabriel. The dark-skinned man was obviously just as tired as him, but also had the same, love-drunk smile on their face.

“Still think I like the company’s paperwork more than you?”

Though his eyes had been closed, Gabriel opened one slightly to look at the Overwatch commander. He laughed and shook his head slowly before combing his hair back with his fingers.

“Maybe not. Though I’d like to think that I’ve got a better way of getting your attention from the start.”

“Hm… That you do. A much better way.”

And Jack wasn’t exaggerating by even a little. While he liked to take control every now and then, there was something thrilling about Gabriel managing to keep himself composed...until the door shut. Then the Blackwatch commander had been all over Jack. He’d grabbed them by the hips, crushed his lips against theirs, and walked them backwards until they’d hit the desk. Gabriel hadn’t even waited for any sort of cue or order from Jack before he had started undressing them. Though, in their haste, neither man had even bothered removing their shirts.

Then there was the undeniable fact that Gabriel was physically stronger than Jack. Though it wasn’t by a whole lot, it was just enough so that the Blackwatch commander could pin his colleague underneath him. And even on the desk, Gabriel had managed to grab Jack’s wrists and hold the blond’s hands over their head while he’d left a series of fiery, insistent kisses down Jack’s neck and then chest.

“You know,” Gabriel sighed, sitting up so that he could admire Jack from where he was seated. “We really shouldn’t wait so long to have these meetings. Especially since we’re now in agreement that I’m better than some rotten paperwork.”

Laughing, Jack pushed himself off the desk and slowly strode over to Gabriel. He sat down on their lap, to which Gabriel welcomed with open arms. Now straddling the Blackwatch commander, Jack smirked down at them and gave them a quick, teasing kiss.

“If you recall, I never brought into question whether or not you were better than paperwork.” Kissing Gabriel again, this time for a little longer, Jack pulled back just enough so that he could continue speaking. “You made that inference all on your own, Commander Reyes.”

“Not like you left me with many options, Morrison,” Gabriel replied with a smug grin.

“Is that so?” Not waiting for an answer, Jack leaned forward and kissed down along Gabriel’s jawline and then neck. Meanwhile, while one of his hands rested on the dark-haired man’s chest, the other was drifting downwards to where Jack could already feel that Gabriel was ‘responding’ well to the teasing attentions. “Should I prove my point to you again, then?”

“I practically insist that you do,” Gabriel groaned, unable to help but arch his back a little as Jack’s hand seemed to find every sensitive spot on his body.

Taking advantage of the fact that they had now switched positions, Jack continued to kiss Gabriel with growing insistence. His attentions to how well the Blackwatch commander was responding continued to increase, and Jack couldn’t help but grin when an unbidden groan or gasp managed to escape Gabriel’s throat.

The Overwatch commander just hoped that the chair held out as well as the desk did.


	3. Heavy Cargo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the newest recruit settles into her new rank, Blackwatch receives the heavy cargo that they had been expecting for days.

Three days.

That’s how long she managed to make it.

Now Evie was staring up at the ceiling and silently waiting for the cold, sweet embrace of death to take her. Every muscle in her body felt like overstretched rubber bands. Then, just for good measure, they had been lit on fire afterwards.

Slowly turning her head to look at the clock, Evie stared at it for a moment before giving it an angry frown. According to its digital readout, she only had thirty more minutes to get out of bed in time for breakfast. The real question, though, was whether or not the breakfast would be worth all the pain of actually getting out of bed.

Having already sampled military food in the past, Evie strongly doubted that it would be. Besides, she could make it until lunch, right?

As if on cue, Evie’s stomach growled in response.

Sighing and rolling off her bed with a groan, Evie staggered to her feet. It took her twice as long to get changed into her daytime clothes, while putting on shoes was a feat of strength in and of itself. Finally, though, she was dressed, and Evie hobbled her way to the cafeteria. On the plus side, she reasoned, the walking about would probably be good for her.

Having arrived late, there wasn’t much left to choose from, but Evie didn’t care. Food was food. And if it was enough to tide her over to lunch, or, at the very least silence her growling stomach, that would suffice.

“Howdy.”

The greeting and the drawl it was delivered in were unique enough that Evie knew who she was talking to before she looked up from her tray.

“Morning, Jesse,” the strawberry blonde woman mumbled through a mouthful of food.

“And how’s our newest member feeling this morning?” Jesse asked with a knowing smirk. He sat down across from Eloisa, noting the exhausted look on her face. “I seem to recall the fourth day was the worst for me.”

“I feel like I tried to stop a runaway freight train,” Evie groaned as he forced herself to sit up straighter. She rubbed the side of her head, mindful of the transmitter. “There are muscles hurting that I didn’t even know I had.”

“Heh, yep. That sounds about right,” Jesse chuckled, tilting his hat back. “Commander Reyes don’t take it easy on anyone. He really pushes the new recruits.” The young man made a faintly disgruntled face and his next statement was hardly audible. “...I should know.”

“Lucky me.”

“But hey! Look on the bright side. Ain’t today supposed to be the day you get to show off your sweet ride to the rest of Blackwatch?”

“If I can even crawl into the damn thing after PT, sure,” Evie laughed dryly. She raised an eyebrow, her grin taking on a slightly mischievous tone. “Think Commander Reyes would give me a pass for today if I told him it was for the sake of a safe tank demonstration?”

Jesse’s eyes widened and he shook his head quickly.

“No. No, no, no.” Making a short, nervous laugh, Jesse leveled a look at Evie. “I’ll give you a tip, darlin’. Don’t ever ask Reyes for a break. That’s a surefire way to make him push you twice as hard and ensure that you don’t get one for the rest of the day.”

Now it was Evie’s turn to look horrified, and she nodded her head in acknowledgment without hesitation.

“Got it. No asking for breaks. Thanks for the warning.”

“Heh, trust me. You’ll be far better off for it.”

“Yeah, good to know,” Evie murmured, taking another bite of scrambled eggs. After chewing for a few moments, she looked up at Jesse thoughtfully. “So I heard that all currently active members of Blackwatch were going to try and make it to the demonstration, correct?”

“And some of Overwatch, too, if the rumors are correct.”

“Wow. Overwatch, too?”

Evie had to admit that she was a little surprised. She had been expecting at least some of Blackwatch to be present, given that she was now one of their few tank pilots. But any Overwatch members attending the demonstration would be unexpected guests.

“Yeah. Somethin’ about wanting to see a rebuilt Omnic tank in action,” Jesse replied with a half-grin. He leaned back in his seat with a quiet sigh. “I imagine that Commander Morrison and a few higher ups will be there. So...no pressure.”

“Joy of eternal joys.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it too much,” the young man chuckled. “Reyes may be a hard ass when it comes to a lot of things, but he does well when it comes to watchin’ out for us. He ain’t about to let you embarrass yourself.” Jesse paused, then winked at Evie. “Well, too much, at least.”

Giving her teammate a sarcastic smile, Evie turned her attention back to the remainder of her breakfast. Despite Jesse’s words, the memory of Commander Reyes standing over her and ordering her to do ten more push-ups kept playing in her mind. He had been completely unrelenting in his orders, but Evie also reminded herself that she had no reason to expect any less. She had known what she was signing up for when she applied to join the ranks of Blackwatch.

Of course, knowing what to expect and then actually doing said expectations were two very different things.

“Better hurry up there, darlin’,” Jesse advised with a nod to the young woman’s cafeteria tray. “Got about forty minutes before you need to be present and accounted for in the gym.”

With a heavy sigh and nod of her head, Evie shoveled a quick forkful of eggs and potatoes into her mouth. She’d eaten as much as she could manage for now. The last thing she wanted was to be sluggish and slow. At least she’d have a proper appetite come lunch time.

* * *

As focused as he had been on the seemingly endless amounts of paperwork on his desk, Gabriel didn’t miss the sounds of Evie’s approach. Her footfalls were heavy and had a bit of an awkward gait to them. The Blackwatch commander couldn’t help but smirk at the sound. He knew that sort of limp. It was the limp of a recruit who was starting to get accustomed to the rigors of physical training.

There was a knock at the frame of the open door, and after a moment Evie peeked in. Looking up, Reyes motioned for her to come into his office. He finished signing the last few forms of the packet he had been working through before pushing it aside. He then returned his gaze to Evie, who was standing smartly in front of him. Despite the fact that she was obviously tired, the new recruit was keeping her composure well.

So Gabriel decided to grant her a bit of mercy for her efforts.

“Go ahead and sit down,” he offered, motioning to a chair in front of his desk. “Probably more comfortable than standing.”

“Thank you, sir.” There was a definite note of sincere appreciation in Evie’s tone.

Watching as Evie partially stifled a wince as she sat down, Gabriel slowly and thoughtfully twirled his pen between his fingers. There had been last minute additions to the tank demonstration audience, and there was only one that he didn’t mind attending. The rest were all overpaid higher ups mostly just wanting to see if their investment in Omnic reformatting was paying off.

Sure, some of them were in the military branch or had military experience. But they were all way too out of touch with how things worked now. So none of them were people that Gabriel cared to have in the audience.

He guessed that those new audience members were the reason that Evie was in his office.

“So you get to show off your tank piloting skills this evening, huh?”

“Yes, sir. Looking forward to it.”

“Are you?” Gabriel asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, sir.” Evie smiled faintly and shrugged. “I’ve been piloting that particular tank for a little over a year now. Hoping it makes it here in one piece.”

“It had better,” the Blackwatch commander chuckled. He sighed and tented his fingers after setting aside his pen. “Because it’s going to be a full house as far as the audience goes.”

“Ah, yes, sir. I’ve been told that along with Blackwatch members, there’s going to be some members of Overwatch in attendance, too. I heard that even Commander Morrison might be there.”

“Yeah, he’s going to be there,” Gabriel agreed with a nod. “Him and a few others.”

“Sir?” Evie asked, confused.

“There’s been some last minute additions to the guest list. Not a whole lot, but they all invited themselves.” Gabriel looked over the guest list on his nearby tablet. “Some scientists and generals. All paid way more than you or I.”

Though she didn’t say anything, there was no missing the brief look of worry that flashed across Evie’s face. Gabriel just scoffed and shrugged off-handedly , still looking over the list. There were a few names he recognized, but not a lot. Quite a few of them were scientists, which he supposed made sense. Though scientists usually ended talking way too much at the end of demonstrations.

“Um, sir?”

“Hm?” Gabriel grunted in acknowledgment, turning his gaze back to Evie.

“Was there any reason given for the new, uh, guests?”

“Officially, no.” The commander then paused and gave Evie a knowing grin. “Unofficially, though, yeah. They want to see if Blackwatch has a better tank pilot than the ones skipping around with Overwatch.”

Muffling a snicker, Evie ducked her head quickly to hide her humor. In a few minutes, she was able to compose herself. Sitting back up quickly, she brushed aside her reddish blonde hair and nodded in acknowledgment.

“Understood, sir. No official reason given.”

“There you go, recruit,” Gabriel said with a wink. Picking up the tablet he had been using, he flicked to the inventory list for the latest load that had been delivered. “Looks like your ride made it here. Should be moved and made available within the hour.” The Blackwatch commander laughed shortly. “Though you should still probably go check on it to make sure that it made it here in one piece.”

* * *

Shuffling back and forth nervously, Evie watched with a scrutinizing eye as the massive, repurposed Omnic spider tank was lifted up and out of the transport ship. Though she had offered to drive it off the transport ship, the crane operator had just looked at Evie as though she’d lost her mind. So now the young woman found herself grimacing and occasionally leaning one way or the other when the tank got too close to hitting something in the hangar.

Making a quiet whine as one of the tank’s legs got dangerously close to clipping a stack of containers, Evie leaned far to the opposite direction. As if she could somehow manipulate the tank’s path of travel by sheer will alone. To her credit, she hadn’t yelled at anyone...yet. But given the way things were going, Evie didn’t know if it would stay that way.

She hadn’t left her tank in pristine condition just for it to be delivered looking like it was fresh from a warzone.

“Phew…! That’s sure a sight to see.”

Turning to look at Jesse, Evie gave him a polite, albeit slightly nervous, smile. She then immediately turned her attention back to her tank. It was still coming far too close to shipping containers for her liking.

“I’d like for said sight to remain damage free, too,” Evie grumbled. Before she could say anything else, there was the ear-piercing screech of metal against metal. Starting, Evie snapped her gaze up just in time to see one of the tank’s legs scrape across a metal shipping container. She waved her arms frantically before pointing at the container and yelling at the crane operator. “Hey! You mind not wrecking the paint job!?”

“Easy there,” Jesse chuckled, noting the annoyed look that the crane operator gave Evie. “I’m sure that metal monster is made out of stuff stout enough to survive a scratch from a storage trailer.”

“I know it is. I just don’t want to have any unnecessary scuffs or scrapes on it. Because  _ I _ always have to be the one to explain them even if they’re not my fault. If I have to show this tank off to a bunch of scrutinizing big wigs and pencil pushers, I want my tank to start out in perfect condition so it can finish in perfect condition.”

“Someone’s confident,” Jesse commented, side-eyeing Evie.

“That’s because I know what I’m doing,” the young woman replied primly.

Finally, mercifully, the tank was lowered to the ground. It had been shut down and transported in such a way that it looked like a spider, the eight-legged kind, with its legs tucked tight to its body. The stance meant that it could be set down without the need for activation. Evie darted forward and circled the tank, visually inspecting it for any damage.

From behind her, Evie could hear Jesse laughing.

“Calm down. I’m sure it’s fine.” There a pause, and when Jesse next spoke, his tone was more akin to a grumble. “Not like it’s got feelins’ or anything, anyways.”

“Yes, but I do,” Evie retorted with a glance over her shoulder. “And I feel like my baby is being mistreated.”

“Your  _ ‘baby’ _ ?” Jesse repeated. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Good grief…”

Smirking and ignoring her teammate for the time being, Evie turned her focus back to her tank. Fortunately, it appeared that the scrape on the leg was the only damage that the machine had suffered during its travels. As soon as the security traps were removed, Evie clambered up onto the tank. Months of working on and maintaining the metal behemoth had left her intimately familiar with every handgrip and foothold.

“My precious, metal baby,” the young woman crooned, perhaps a little more dramatically than was necessary. She lightly patted the dark grey armor. “I promise I’m not going to let anybody else hurt you.”

“Now you’re makin’ me feel ill,” Jesse called with a laugh.

“Then might I suggest you look away.”

Opening the cockpit of the tank, Evie leaned down to look around. The lights were still dimmed, of course, but she could see well enough. The cockpit was pretty cramped quarters, given that the original design of the tank hadn’t had a need for a cockpit...or a pilot. Nonetheless, it served its purpose, functioned properly...and had been motivation for Evie to stick with her diet plan.

She was just about the all clear when she noticed that something was missing.

“Hey!” Evie cried, sitting upright and focusing on the nearest hangar worker. “Where’d all the stuff I had in the cockpit go!?”

The worker just stared back at her with a blank expression.

“Uh…”

“I had at least a box’s worth of stuff in there! Some notes, keychains, some lights. You know, stuff to give it a personal touch.”

“Uh…”

“Afraid you’re going to have to count them as a loss, rookie.”

Her commander’s voice snapped Evie to attention, and she looked back to where Jesse had been standing. He was now accompanied by Commander Reyes, who was eyeing the spider tank dubiously. As soon as he noticed that Evie was giving him a disappointed look, Gabriel shrugged, returning her look with an apologetic one of his own.

“Not everything always makes it over here,” he explained. “Especially if it’s being transported as heavy duty freight.”

“Bummer,” Evie huffed with a slouch.

“Wasn’t anythin’ too valuable, was it?” Jesse asked.

“I...guess not.” Sighing and combing her fingers through her hair, Evie looked down at the empty cockpit. “There were some photos, but I can get those back. I’m mostly bummed about losing the keychains I had in there.”

“Keychains?” Gabriel repeated as he began walking around the tank to give it a onceover.

“Yeah. Had started a little collection of sorts. I mean, I only had four, but I was making progress, at least.”

“Were they one of a kind or something?”

“No. Just sentimental value because of when and or where I got them.” Evie shrugged. “Pretty sure I could get them online. It’s just that they wouldn’t be the same.”

“Sentimental value, right,” Gabriel commented, stopping in front of the tank. He looked at Evie, trying to ignore the cold, uncomfortable feeling that the tank was giving him. Even if it was a corpse. “Well, everything else in order with this...thing?”

“Aside from a scrape on the back, left leg, yeah.” Evie absently looked over the tank, and her gaze fell upon the words ‘In Training’ still painted on the right side of the tank. After a moment’s consideration, she spoke up. “Hey, Commander Reyes?”

“Yeah?”

“Think I could get something else painted on here?” the strawberry blonde asked, pointing at the right side of the tank. “I’d like to think that I’m out of training now.”

“You’re  _ almost _ out of training,” Gabriel corrected, walking over to see where Evie was pointing. After a moment’s hesitation, he reached over and lightly scratched at the paint. It flecked of funder his nail, as most cheap paints would. Scoffing lightly, Gabriel looked back up to Evie. “But, yeah. I think we can get something else printed on here. What’d you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. Blackwatch’s logo, maybe? Skulls? Flames? Flaming skulls? Just something other than ‘In Training’.”

“I’ll see what I can get done, then,” Gabriel laughed briefly. He then motioned for Evie. “Now get down from there before you fall and break your neck.”

Sighing and rolling her eyes with a half-smirk, Evie expertly clambered off the tank. She slid down the last bit, landing right in front of Commander Reyes. Grinning up at him, Evie combed a stray lock of hair out of her face.

“I’m not going to break my neck, sir,” she assured. “I’ve been climbing around on this thing for about a year now.”

“Yeah, that’s nice,” Gabriel retorted flatly, once again giving the tank a scrutinizing look. “And you’ve been piloting this thing for that long, too, right?”

“Ever since it was repurposed and I was assigned to it, yeah.” Evie peeked around Commander Reyes to look at Jesse. The young man hadn’t moved from his spot, instead choosing to keep his distance from the tank. “It isn’t even online, Jesse. It’s not going to bite.”

“I ain’t worried about it biting,” Jesse grumbled, taking a few reluctant steps forward. “I’m more worried about being stomped on.”

“That only happens if you get in my way,” Evie replied with a smirk.

It took everything the young woman had not to giggle at the looks both Commander Reyes and Jesse gave her. She motioned to the tank excitedly, already starting a preactivation program via her headgear. In her ears, she could hear the electronic whine of the tank’s controls fire up. Now unable to hide her excitement, Evie looked up at her commanding officer hopefully.

“Want to see if the tank still operates?”


	4. Preliminary Demonstration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the zombified Omnic tank safely delivered to the Overwatch headquarters, Evie gives her two commanding officers a quick demonstration before the proper, main one.  
> Despite the tank's usefulness, both Gabriel and Jack can't help but feel a bit of unease so close to something that they would have considered the enemy not too long ago.

Despite himself, Gabriel reflexively bristled at Evie’s offer. He drew in a short breath and crossed his arms, eyeing the Omnic tank narrowly. Being this close to one of these things when it was nonfunctional was about on par with getting DIY dental work on his list of fun things to do. Nevermind an actual moving and operating one. But all it took was one look at Evie’s excited and hopeful expression and Gabriel could only sigh and nod.

“Go on. Start that metal monster up, then,” he reluctantly agreed, motioning to the tank. “Just make sure you don’t break anything in here. Last thing I need is one of the higher ups giving me an ass chewing.”

Barely able to muffle her noise of excitement, Evie turned back to the tank. With a simple, quick command, the control pads on the sides of her head flickered to life. A couple of operational lights fluttered dimly and a familiar, faint electronic whine hummed through Evie’s head.

Though the control pads themselves seemed relatively simple in design, the interface that they had with Evie’s own neural network was incredibly complex. Most of it went over her head, and she had been content to remember just the vital parts. One of those vital parts being that the pads made controlling the empty, Omnic tank far easier.

Eliciting a metallic groan, the tank shuddered to life and began to rise up. The legs flexed slowly to ensure mobility before getting situated. Though the tank was currently bereft of any weapons, it towered over everyone and looked no imposing. With another command, the top half of the tank, where a weapon could be mounted, pivoted around slowly. The tank then took a few small steps around, but not much more. Evie didn’t want to make Commander Reyes any more concerned than he already was.

Evie couldn’t help but beam up proudly at the tank. It was just as impressive as she remembered, and the familiarity it offered was most definitely welcome. She then turned to her commanding officer and fellow compatriot. Jesse was giving the tank an uneasy look, but Gabriel was making no attempt to hide the scowl he was giving the tank. Even so, Evie couldn’t help but feel excited. It had been almost a month since she’d been able to pilot her precious tank, and she was eager to get back to practicing.

From his vantage point on one of the catwalks that ringed the large hangar, Jack watched as the Omnic tank came to life. He couldn’t deny that even knowing it was under the control of a human, the sight of the moving tank sent a chill down his back. The sight of it brought back memories that Jack was all too happy to try and forget.

His gaze then slowly drifted from the tank and its pilot as she happily skipped around it to the dark-haired commander that was watching with a scrutinizing frown. Jack could only imagine what Gabriel was thinking at that point. Or what memories he was fighting back. The Blackwatch commander had had to deal with some of the deadliest Omnics in some of the most high-stakes missions.

Missions that, despite being completed successfully and Jack’s best efforts, Gabriel had received little if any commendation for.

Sighing and trying to push aside the unpleasant thought, Jack let his gaze linger on the Blackwatch commander for a little longer. He couldn’t help but smirk at little when he saw Gabriel scrunch up their nose at something Evie said. Even if he was making no secret about his opinion of the Omnic tank, Gabriel was at least managing to hold back any scathing remarks.

For now, anyways…

“It seems to be operational, sir.”

“Oh, goody,” Gabriel grumbled disdainfully, still eyeing the tank narrowly.

“You know, sir, it is  _ just _ a vehicle,” Evie said slowly, trying to pick her words carefully. She knew that Commander Reyes had been pivotal in combating the Omnics that had gone rogue and that he had undoubtedly seen some of the terrible things they could do. But his disdain towards the more or less zombified Omnic tank seemed a bit much. “Just...you know, like a car.”

“Yeah. A car with heavy armor, heavier weaponry, and, worst of all,  _ this  _ car used to have a mind of its own. A mind that decided it was done helping the ones that created it and instead wanted to annihilate them,” Gabriel stated steely. “Those things were an absolute nightmare to fight. Took a hell of a lot of ordinance to take them down, and even then it wasn’t a guarantee. They’d go scurrying into populated areas because they figured out we weren’t going to murder civilians to get to them. So we ended up having to use strike teams only to get mauled by the damn things.” The Blackwatch commander crossed his arms and snorted derisively. “Yep. Sure sounds like  _ just _ a car to me.”

It was the sound of Jesse cautiously clearing his throat that pulled Gabriel out of his thoughts, and memories. He glanced over at the young sharpshooter, who nodded slightly towards Evie. Following the direction of the motion with his gaze, Gabriel looked back to Evie. The tank pilot’s enthusiasm had obviously faded, and she was looking away at one of the legs of the tank with a crestfallen expression. Sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose, Gabriel shook his head dismissively.

“Just...nevermind,” he muttered. Breathing out a long sigh and straightening his posture, Gabriel waved towards the tank. “Well, go on. Show me what you can do with this thin-er,  _ Omnic tank _ .’

Though she perked up a little, Evie was still reluctant to actually do anything with the tank. She hadn’t missed the genuine hatred for Omnics that had been Gabriel’s voice. Even with the tank no longer being functional, it seemed that he hated it all the same.

This was going to be...difficult.

After a few moments of consideration, Evie scoffed to herself and decided to just go for broke. In a few minutes, Commander Reyes would either appreciate or loathe her. RIght now all she needed to focus on was doing a good job of showing off her control over the tank.

Tapping at one of the buttons on the left control pad on her head, Evie stepped to the side as the tank came back to life. She strode around it, letting the top half track her as she did so. Trying to ignore the fact that all eyes were currently on her, Evie stepped up when she reached the front of the tank again. At her command, the machine slid its leg Evie and lifted her up off the ground.

Though it was a tricky balancing act, Evie managed to stay put. She looked to her commanding officer with a neutral, questioning expression. In response, Gabriel just nodded. Turning, Evie clambered to the cockpit as the door to it opened on command. As soon as she was inside, the door slid back shut with a quiet hiss.

More or less falling into the seat of the cockpit with a comfortable familiarity, Evie allowed herself a brief moment to relax into the seat with a sigh. Then, as soon as the moment was over, she grabbed the controls and gave them gentle twists. At the gestures, the complete navigation screen activated and lit up along with all the system statuses.

As expected, the tank pinged a warning at her that it was currently without any sort of weaponry. For now, Evie ignored it. Instead, she turned her attention and the tank’s focus to Reyes, knowing that the weapon mount was now aiming at the Blackwatch commander. She waved weakly at him, and though he couldn’t see that gesture, he could see the fact that the tank’s front, right leg lifted and carefully waved at him.

“Can you hear me, sir?” Evie nervously called out via the tank’s installed speaker system.

“Loud and clear,” Gabriel replied, returning the wave.

Though his voice was a little muffled, Evie could still understand her commanding officer. She also noted that he at least had the good humor enough to wave back.

“Going to move about a little, sir,” Evie advised. She paused and then added on. “And don’t worry, sir. I’ll be careful.”

“You’d better.”

Oddly enough and even though Jesse shuffled out of the way, Commander Reyes didn’t move. Evie studied him for a moment, then shrugged to herself. She could only guess that he was wanting to see if she could move the tank around him without actually bumping into him. It certainly wouldn’t be impossible, but Evie could already feel her heart beginning to beat rapidly in her throat.

Drawing in a long, deep breath, Evie held it for a moment before letting it out in an attempt to calm herself. She reminded herself that not only could she not get nervous now, but that there was no reason to. Other than, of course, the obvious fact that her commanding officer detested the vehicle she was currently piloting.

Breathing out a shorter sigh and casting a forlorn look to where her collection of keychains  _ should _ have been, Evie then turned her attention back to the main screen in front of her. She could see that Commander Reyes was now tapping his foot, appearing impatient with the lack of movement on the tank’s part. Frowning and feeling her stomach do a funny twist, Evie gripped the controls a little tighter and began to move the tank forward.

Feeling himself reflexively tense at the sight of the tank, however slowly, bearing down on him, Gabriel stood his ground. While he trusted Evie not to plow him over, there was still a part of the Blackwatch commander that believed the tank would spring to life at any moment before trying to crush him. From behind him, Gabriel could hear Jesse shuffling back and forth nervously. Though, to be honest, the Blackwatch commander couldn’t really blame him.

“Easy, kid,” Gabriel murmured, never taking his gaze off the tank. “It’s just a  _ car _ , remember?”

“I ain’t ever seen a car like that,” Jesse grumbled as he looked up at the tank uneasily. “And I’d sure as hell get out of the way if it was comin’ at me.”

Before Gabriel could reply, a bone chilling, mechanical growl thrummed from the tank and reverberated through the air. It made both Gabriel and Jesse jump back, and the Blackwatch commander’s hand flew to his sidearm.

“Whoa, whoa! It’s okay, sir! It’s okay!” Evie called out from the tank while moving the tank itself back a quick and shuffled step. “It’s-it’s just a sound that the tank makes.” There was a pause, and then Evie quickly followed up with. “At my command, I mean!”

“Thanks for warning us before making that thing roar!” Gabriel yelled back, slowly forcing himself to relax.

Back on the catwalk, Jack had darted to the nearest ladder when he’d heard the tank ‘scream’, thinking that it had gone rogue. While he would have been able to explain the reaction as an attempt to stop the tank, that would have only been partially true. His actual intention had been to try and get Gabriel out of the way of the thing.

It was only when he heard Evie calling out from the bowels of the metal monstrosity that Jack relaxed. Even then, he did so very cautiously. His blue-eyed gaze flicked back and forth between the tank and Gabriel. Of course, the dark-haired commander hadn’t made a move to flee. Jack knew that they wouldn’t have, but that didn’t necessarily help his nerves any.

“Sorry, sir,” Evie continued. “The noise...doesn’t do anything.”

“Except bring back horrific memories,” Gabriel grumbled under his breath.

“Heh, c’mon sir. Don’t be too hard on her,” Jesse interjected quietly. “You saw how excited she was to drive that metal monstrosity. Was ever since she heard it arrived. ‘Sides, you want her lookin’ bright and chipper for the demonstration, don’t ya’?”

Sighing and nodding in wordless agreement, Gabriel turned his attention back to the tank. As much as he may have disliked the thing it once  _ was _ , he had to admit it would be an asset on the battlefield. All he had to do was keep reminding himself was that it was now under  _ Blackwatch’s _ control.

“Giving us permanent hearing loss isn’t all it can do, is it?” Gabriel called to Evie, forcing a smile to try and lighten the mood a little.

“N-no, sir. Can do a bit more.” There was a pause of silence, then Evie spoke up again. “Just give me a minute and I’ll walk it around a bit. Just have to make sure it doesn’t bump into anything.”

In a moment, the tank took a few smooth strides forwards before curling around Commander Reyes while carefully avoiding touching Jesse. In a combat situation, it would have been a good maneuver to either protect an ally or cut off the escape of an enemy.

In order to keep circling around, the tank had to tilt at an odd angle. Its legs creaked faintly as it went into an almost kneeling position. Even so, it continued to move around fluidly, never stuttering a pace. It kept tromping around the two Blackwatch members with notable care and ease before straightening itself and rising up. With that, it walked over the two men with ease and, more importantly, without touching either of them.

From his vantage point on the catwalk, Jack was focused solely on the small show that Evie and her tank were giving. He had to admit that she was doing well to move the tank around without colliding with anything or anyone. Then again, it was one of those deals where Evie should have, regardless.

Jack also noticed that, to his credit, Gabriel was doing a bit better about being reserved in his opinion of the tank. The Overwatch commander had noticed Jesse say something to his commanding officer, but hadn’t been able to hear it. Whatever it had been though, it had been enough to calm Gabriel down to the point that he was lightly joking with Evie. That in and of itself was a notable improvement.

As the tank strode by, Jack walked along the catwalk, following its long steps. It appeared that the tank had fared well in transit. There were only a few minor scuffs and scrapes that were to be expected with international transportation. With it being in such good condition, Jack couldn’t help but wonder how things would play out during the demonstration tomorrow. When Evie and her tank were given much more room to move around in front of a far more understanding, albeit demanding, audience.

“Everything running like it should be, rookie?” Gabriel asked loudly, trying to keep his tone as amiable as he could muster. Though he wanted to grimace at the sight of the tank this close to him, he just kept reminding himself of the young woman sitting in the cockpit. “Aside from the missing keychain collection, everything okay in there?”

“Certainly seems so, sir.”

“Good.” Gabriel jerked his head towards one of the main exits. “Now get out of that thing before it eats you. They need to finish getting your tank cleaned, prepped, and moved over to the demonstration bay.”

Giggling quietly, Evie nodded in agreement.

“Yes, sir. Just give me a few minutes to get this thing parked.”

After walking back to its original position on the landing pad, the tank slowly lowered back into its curled up position. As the lights dimmed and flickered off, the cockpit opened with a hiss. Clambering out, Evie slid off the tank and walked up to her commanding officer. She was wearing a cautiously hopeful expression, while her stomach continued to do weak flip flops.

Fortunately, Commander Reyes gave her a half-smile as she approached. Then, much to Evie’s pleasant surprise, he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close with a sort of playful roughness. Her surprise must have been evident, because when she glanced over to Jesse questioningly, he just smiled and shrugged.

“You know you’re going to have to do more than walk around in that thing for the demonstration, right?” Gabriel asked teasingly. Glancing over at Jesse, he discretely motioned for his subordinate to give himself and Evie a bit of privacy. It was a cue that the younger man heeded without hesitation. Looking back to the young woman, Gabriel gave her a fainter, but more sincere, smile. “Didn’t mean to yell at you earlier. It’s just...that thing brought back some bad memories, is all.”

“It’s alright,” Evie replied quickly, even though she didn’t fully believe her own words. “I guess it would given everything that you’ve...gone through.” She sighed softly and shrugged. “Guess I just am too used to it and being in control of it that it doesn’t bother me.”

“Yeah. Either way, though, you’re right,” Gabriel continued as he and Evie walked towards the hangar exit. “It’s just a vehicle now. And I’d be lying if I said you and that metal monstrosity weren’t a desperately needed addition to Blackwatch. May not be the stealthiest thing available, but I’d definitely trust you and it to haul our asses out of a firefight.” The dark-haired commander chuckled and grinned down at Evie. “So just let me have my paranoid grumblings about that tank for about a week and then I’ll be singing your praises. Deal?”

“Deal,” Evie laughed. Despite what had just transpired, she did find it oddly comforting to be talking to Commander Reyes like this. After a moment of thought, she smirked up at him. “Think I should have the tank roar at the audience?”

“As hilarious as that might be, I don’t think everyone in attendance would find that as funny as I would,” Gabriel commented with a smirk of his own. “Besides, we have to use kid gloves when dealing with those Overwatch boy scouts.” As though noticing him for the first time, Gabriel glanced up at Jack and gave the blond a quick wink before turning his attention back to Evie. “You make that thing roar and a couple of them are liable to go sprinting out of the room.”

“Really, sir?” Evie laughed.

“Oh yeah,” Gabriel replied with a sage nod. He grinned up at Jack, who seemed to know that he was being talked about. “Isn’t that right, Commander Morrison?”

Though he opened his mouth to answer, Jack thought better of it and didn’t say anything. Instead, he gave Gabriel a narrow-eyed look while smirking at them with a raised eyebrow.

“I learned a long time ago not to blindly agree to anything you say, Commander Reyes.”

“Only had to fool you once and then you learned, huh?” Gabriel teased.

“Only thing you’ve managed to fool me about is that you’re worth keeping around,” Jack retorted, his smirk never faltering.

Evie couldn’t help but giggle quietly at the bantering between the two.

“You two going to keep this up in public or you going to get a room?” she teased.


End file.
